Brockett Film Review: 'The Haunting' is a can't-miss horror flick

I'll be honest, one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life was determining which classic horror/thriller film was going to be the last to be reviewed for our Halloween series.

There are so many incredible pictures that we could have discussed during the month. My hope was to encourage some of you to watch classic cinema.

For my last entry for the month, it was a toss-up between Ridley Scott's 1979 "Alien" and Robert Wise's 1963 classic "The Haunting." I was losing sleep trying to decide, but after some thought and suggestions by family, we decided that "Alien," although an incredible motion picture, was not old enough to make the list. I would definitely recommend you watch it if you haven't yet.

With that being said, we're keeping it black and white with 1963's "The Haunting.

Wise, who oddly enough is responsible for 1965's "The Sound of Music" and 1961's "West Side Story" also directed "The Haunting," which tells the story of Eleanor "Nell" Lance (played by Julie Harris), a 30-something anti-social under-confident woman living with her sister and sleeping on her couch.

Longing for some adventure, her yearning finally comes as an invitation in the mail to join a select group of people for an experiment being conducted by Dr. John Markway, a ghost enthusiast attempting to prove that ghosts, indeed, exist. Eleanor is joined by Theo, a flirtatious brunette played by Claire Bloom, and Luke Sanderson, a ghost-doubting socialite who always has a drink in his hand.

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Apparently, Luke is set to inherit Hill House and hopes to make a small fortune selling it to some brave soul.

Russ Tamblyn, who you may remember from his role as Riff in "West Side Story," plays Luke.

Each participant in the study is greeted and welcomed to the residence by a housekeeper who insists on explaining to them that she leaves Hill House before it gets dark because, at night, nobody will be around to hear your screams.

What a great way to welcome people to a residence.

After the four make themselves at home, Markway explains why they have all been invited to Hill House. History tells us that Hill House has stood for some 90 years and has seen one tragedy after another. Rumor has it that Hill House itself is alive. The four must eat, sleep and go about their everyday routine while monitoring any strange occurrences.

Wise got the idea for the film while reading a review of Shirley Jackson's novel, "The Haunting of Hill House" in Time magazine. Intrigued, Wise approached Jackson to discuss the possibility of turning her novel into a feature film. Knowing that the title wouldn't work for a motion picture, Wise asked if Jackson had any ideas on alternate titles. She reportedly said the only other name she had explored was simply "The Haunting." The movie was recreated and released in 1999. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.

It's interesting to note that with the amount of pictures that were coming out each year; a majority of filming took place on soundstage. In fact, a majority of classic cinema was shot on a soundstage; rarely would exterior shots be filmed on location. "The Haunting" was also shot on a soundstage, but exterior shots of Hill House were filmed on location.

I have not been able to find out exactly where the picture was shot, except that it talks about how the movie was based in New England. During the filming, Tamblyn talks about an evening stroll by the cemetery located on the grounds of the home. Tamblyn said his ghostly encounter that evening was similar to what moviegoers witnessed when the picture first came out. You can hear Tamblyn talk about his strange encounter in the commentary section on the DVD.

I also learned that it took Tamblyn being threatened to lose his contract from MGM to take on the role of Sanderson. Legendary film director Martin Scorsese has said "The Haunting" is his favorite all-time horror movie.

As always, let's start identifying themes in the movie. Mental illness is clearly one. During my character descriptions, I said Nell was an "under-confident anti-social type looking for some adventure in her life." I forgot to mention that throughout the movie she's constantly talking to herself about issues that she once had with her mother. Following along the movie, you begin to see familiar storylines between the voices in Nell's head and some of the bizarre occurrences that have taken place at Hill House.

From the very beginning, Nell truly believes she belongs in Hill House, and because of that I took fate and destiny as other possible themes.

Finally, I'll talk about how new life or rebirth could be considered. It's as if Nell is a new person in the house. Nell feels a sense of comfort being in a house that is constantly creating mischief for those who enter its domain. The house calls for her, it yearns for her to be inside of it. It's almost as if Nell is the second coming of the original woman who was murdered in the home. I'll leave the rest up to you to decide.

The acting was pretty good and the direction of the film kept me entertained, but the beginning of the picture seem to drag for me. Maybe it was Nell's obvious mental illness that made her seem so childish during some of the scenes in the picture. She was treated and talked to by the others as if she was a child and her reaction toward her treatment reminded me a lot of a teenage girl.

The cinematography was great with the use of shadows that were incorporated into many of the shots. The best part of "The Haunting" was the sound used to emulate danger. Whenever the girls had retired to their rooms for the evening, both are awakened by unusual noises throughout the house. The distant thuds and bangs quickly make their way to the girls' adjoining bedrooms, where they quickly turn into thunderous bangs at the door. It's by far my favorite part of the picture trying to imagine what could be making such a racket. Two thumbs up with the use of quality sound in this picture.

If a movie has bad sound, I can't watch it. If the mix is terrible and I'm constantly turning the volume up and down, it's usually a movie that I pass on. "The Haunting's" use of creative sound effects should be enough to spark your interest in watching this film.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my classic horror film reviews as much as I have enjoyed watching them. At this point, you should know my love for classic cinema, especially classic horror movies. Watch a good scary movie this year for Halloween, it's good for you.

I will leave you with one of the most memorable lines I have ever heard. It comes from Charles Cyphers, who played Sheriff Leigh Brackett in John Carpenter's 1979 classic horror picture "Halloween": "It's Halloween. Everyone deserves one good scare!"

Until next week, that's a wrap!

Thoughts or horror movies suggestions, email Jason at incinemaniac@gmail.com. Also, listen to his morning radio program from 6-10 a.m. Monday throuogh Friday on Country 105.3 FM KZZX.